Trouble "Coming Out"

[The Skeptic]

Hi all-

I am finding a tremendous amount of trouble coming out. Even when I do , I am not believed.

My sister came out before I did. We have many religious family members still. An aunt of ours who is also a missionary said, "She's not an atheist. She just think she's one..."

Huh? So if you can "think" you are atheist, can you also "think" you are an Xer?

It is taken for granted that religion is a good thing, and that an atheist is just someone who is a bit off. In my country you cannot even run for public office if you are an atheist, so strong is the sentiment that it is so important to human life that you cannot be rational without it. Imagine the guy in charge of the red phone without faith! (I would be more afraid these days if he does have faith. )

How did you all come out? Were you believed?

My coming out was pretty accidental. I tried to hide the fact I didn't believe in God, though, I admit that if asked about it i'd give vauge answers. I stopped going to Church a long time ago though. It was earlier this year that I "came out" or rather, was "found out". I'm not sure how. I think my sister was snooping on my facebook page or they saw my copy of the God Delusion on my bookshelf ( I didn't care to hide it, because I was tiring of hiding it anyway). My mom especially freaked out and tried to take my car away. My dad didn't like it but respected the fact that I am an adult and capable of my own spiritual decisions. My sister is a condescending bitch about it that makes more logic mistakes than my dad does( to paraphrase her, "Darwin was a freak", "It's impossible for humans to have evolved from monkeys because my teachers said so", and when she asked once if I knew I was going hell I said that if there was a hell, i'm willing to accept the punishment if I am wrong, and she blurts out HA SO YOU ADMIT IT YOU ARE WRONG). I'm certain she was the one who was snooping around. I don't want to sound like I am bashing my family, otherwise they are fine, but when it came to me being found out an atheist, they reacted the opposite of what I expected. I didn't think my sister would have much to say on the matter, I thought my dad would be the one to freak out, and my mom to be the understanding one. Instead, just the opposite happened, my sister had to get her two cents in, my dad was the understanding one, and my mom freaked out. My point is in this anecdotal tale is that you can't really know what to expect from your family and friends when you come out as an atheist. I do suggest being tactful and making sure nothing can happen like being kicked out or something of that nature.

What I don't get about the theists is how they view atheism. They think it's a denial of god, or that you are mad at him, or that you worship science. One of my friends back in high school thought I went to an atheist church.. Others think around here in the Bible Belt that atheism means Satan worship. Of course everyone here knows what atheism really is, but in case a theist is reading this,, atheism is not a belief but the lack of one, and it's not a denial of god, it's typically merely an aspect of a naturalist, materialist world view, which also encompasses other things like metaphysical belief on the nature of reality and the like.